Grey
by DragonSpiritX
Summary: "Things are suppose to be black and white! It's much simpler that way...but with grey...I don't know what to do with grey." An old friend of Maleficent's comes to the Moors, but is her sudden appearance a friendly visit or something else entirely? And how will such a visit affect the others, namely a certain raven? Diaval/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: For all my readers keeping up with this story don't worry! I just reformatted it so that the first three chapter were merged into one, it seemed more fitting together as a prologue and Chapter 1 than a separate three. Plus I added the second chapter, meaning this and all of the rest of them will be fairly longer. So thank you all for your support and for new readers, read and I hope you enjoy!**_

_**XXXXX**_

Loud grunts and grating metal echoed through the vast green brush of the forest. A group of gruff looking men worked desperately to tame their newly caught prize. It struggled just as fiercely through hisses, swats and jerks. There could be only one victor, predator or prey. One side needed to act fast or succumb to the other.

A sharp scraping sound was barely heard through the tussle, one of the men having swiftly pulled a large, thick piece of wood from their cart nearby and staggered to his full height. He grunted as he swung his weapon over his head, signaling his cohorts to move out of the way with a tilt of his head. As they jumped away, the creature attempted to do the same only to be plunged into painful darkness as something hard and heavy crushed it into the dew-soaked grass.

Bright sun beams delicately entered the large room through the open window, being disturbed as articles of clothing flew about the air.

"How about this dress? No, no, this one! Oh, I believe this one even better suits you, my dear!" a small voice squeaked excitedly from the grand, black walnut brass wardrobe. The dresses ruffled and shook along with the mumbles and musings from behind them.

"Aha!"

The row of dresses swiftly parted down the middle as a tiny, pink-clothed pixie popped out from them. She grinned as she held out a pink dress strewn with lighter pink ruffles.

"This will be the perfect dress for the ball, My Queen!" Knottgrass exclaimed, rushing toward to the pair sitting patiently on the bed. Aurora kindly accepted the dress, holing it up to inspect its intricate designs. "This will be the first get together under your rule so you must look your absolute best!" she continued, clasping her hands as her wings flittered in a burst of happiness.

"It is a fine dress indeed," she agreed, laying it carefully across her lap, smoothing out some of the creases. She tilted her head to the side with a small smile before bringing it up before her once more. "What do you think, Godmother?"

Green eyes slowly roved over the garment, only for a moment before falling back down upon the lines of the wooden floor that seemed to be all the more interesting at this point.

"You would look beautiful in whatever it is you choose to wear, Little Beastie." Maleficent murmured through the palm of her hand, the faery watching the scene with her chin resting in the palm of her hand. She was the picture of perfect patience, save for the boredom swimming in her eyes and the random twitches of her wings.

Aurora giggled, shaking her head and nudging the other gently. "Godmother," she chided. "That's not helping."

"She does have a point, you know." Diaval grinned, readjusting his slimly muscled, black cladded form from his perch on the lengthy window sill. Blue eyes rolled in exasperation as she grinned back at the man-raven.

A huff followed their exchange, all eyes turning to the pouting blue pixie hovering in the air, an equally ruffle-laced dress in her clutches.

"The only point we have to make here is," Flittle started, bringing the dress before her and wiggling it in a show off. "To get the Queen in dress that enhances her natural beauty and that make her shine like a sparkling river in the middle of spring." She sighed dreamily before shooting a glare at Knotgrass. "Not to make her look like a little piglet!"

Knotgrass bristled, tiny fists clenched in anger. "A piglet?!" she roared, snatching her chosen dress from Aurora's shocked hands and waving it in front of her fellow pixie's face. "This dress was made by the best tailor in the kingdom!" She then turned and flew to the blond-haired girl, holding it up near her face. "And it will bring out the natural glow of her lovely, rosy cheeks." She smiled softly, looking down at the young woman.

Flittle huffed again, shooting forward and promptly pushing the other away, ignoring her squeak of anger. "Well, this dress will bring out the blue of her eyes." She stated firmly, bringing the dress up to her face as well.

"The dress _is_ blue!" Knotgrass countered, shoving her back. "If anything it will distract from her blue eyes!" she snorted, pausing for a moment before looking snootily back at Flittle. "And it will make her look like blueberry." She added.

"Rather a blueberry than a piglet!" the blue pixie shouted, coming face to face with the other, throwing the dress down to the floor in a fit of rage. Knotgrass did the same.

"Pink is better, admit it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

Aurora turned her wide eyes to her Godmother, who merely shrugged and looked back at Diaval, looking for his thoughts on the situation. He, too, shrugged before looking at the fighting pixies.

"How about the dress be both colors?"

The two paused in their brawl, looking contemplative at the dresses below, they then grinned and with a wave of their wands the two dresses combined into one, shimmering before them in all its glory. Or, at least, glory in their opinion.

The young Queen looked at the mismatched dress in utter horror. "Now I am going to be a piglet drowning in the sparkling river during spring." She muttered as she stared distantly at the dress. The pixies wilted in confusion, prodding and searching the dress to find the source of Aurora's discontent.

Maleficent straightened herself up and graced the snickering man with a glare. Diaval choked on his chuckle.

"You will pay for this." She promised, fingers twitching and glowing with affirmation. The shape-changer had the nerve to sniff and cross his arms over his chest, looking away.

"I was only trying to help." He muttered, brushing a few black locks away from his eyes. He abruptly stood, staring off into the distance.

"Diaval, what is it?" Maleficent asked, quickly moving to him to look out the window as the others looked on, exchanging worried glances.

The kingdom was a peaceful as it ever was, the calm bustle of bother workers and royalty roaming about. Suddenly a small green dot shot toward them, the pair having to duck out of the way to prevent from being hit a good one. The green burst of energy let out a pained squeak as it ran smack dabbed into the opposite wall of the bedroom before falling into the laid out fluffy pillows. They rustled momentarily before a head popped out of them.

"Thistletwit!" Aurora cried out, rushing to the headboard of her bed. She gently pulled the pixie out of the freshly cleaned sheets, cradling her in her arms with care. Said pixie groaned, adjusting her leafy hat accordingly and rubbing the painful bump she knew was going to form. She looked up at her Queen, eyes suddenly brimming with tears as she threw her arms around her neck.

"It-it w-was sso ho-horible!" she sobbed, clutching her tighter as though she was the only lifeline to make it go away. Aurora gently pushed the pixie away, blue eyes gazing into hazy green ones.

"What was, Thistletwit?" she asked calmly, trying to hide the building panic trudging its way through her stomach. The pixie's bottom lip trembled, furiously wiping her tears with one hand while pointing toward the window with the other.

"Th-they g-g-got h-her!" she choked out, covering her face in her hands as her fellow pixies floated downwards toward her, murmuring sweet comforts. Maleficent stepped forward, wings arched high.

"Who?" she asked firmly, gazing upon the other Moor creature intensely. Small hands slowly slid down the green pixie's face and she stared up at the other in surprise as if she was now noticing the other's presence.

"Maleficent!" she shouted with great power, darting from Aurora's hands and to the faery, startling the much larger being. Thistletwit clutched on her sleeves, tugging fiercely and guiding her toward the window.

"You must go!" she cried in panic, letting go of the cloth and moving to shove her from behind as the other would not budge any further than before the windowsill. "You have to go now and save her!"

"WHO?!" the others cried in exasperation and concern.

She looked up at the all with wide eyes full of desperation, panting from exhaustion.

"The other faery…"

Name: Belladonna

Origin: beautiful but deadly plant- deadly nightshade

Treasured possession: a rock- the environment and creatures mold it into what it becomes, but it will always remain a rock

"Pass the spoils, man, don't hog it all for yourself!"

Murmurs of agreements rose from the group, prompting a grumble and a small thud as a brown, worn out sack was carelessly thrown into the middle of the circle. Greedy, black, filthy hands hurriedly pilfered through it, drawing out its contents only to quickly dispose of them into their awaiting mouths.

A hiss broke cut over the loud crunches and gulps of their meal, but no mind was paid to it save for one man.

The young man, barely of age to be considered an adult yet, turned his head toward the noise. He frowned deeply, looking downward to the scraps of meat and bone that remained in his thin, cut-up fingers. The wheels of his brain turned in his quiet thoughts, brown eyes peeking under dirty blond hair at his self-absorbed cohorts. He looked back up to where the noise originated. His mind made up with a clenched of his fists over the tiny morsels in his hand, he quietly stood and headed toward its direction.

Stepping through the bushes a few feet away camp, the youth came to a stop. Before him sat a grand cage, not unlike an oversized canary cage one would have hanging in their homes for their beloved pet. Except this cage was not built for a beloved pet. It was constructed for a much desired and deadly prey, having thicker bars only to provide oxygen and no chance of slipping between them; spikes lining them and pointed inwards for further of this impossibility. Even thicker chains were wrapped around its cylinder-like shape, coming to be locked tightly at the front of its single hatch.

It was nothing short of a prison, an over-kill of a prison under normal circumstances in catching animals. But this was definitely not normal circumstances. And what lay hidden in the shadows of its innards was definitely not just any animal.

The youth was pulled out of his horror-filled awe by a low, drawn out growl. The noise went straight to his spine, coaxing out momentary shivers as he hesitated to get any closer. Brown eyes closed and deep breaths were taken before the last steps to be directly in front of the cage were achieved. Eyelids slowly opened, and the sight was breath taking.

Silver eyes stared back, unblinking and unmoving and a predatory likeness to them; the only things to be seen from the shadows of the cage. The intensity of them was so overwhelming, the youth was unsure if the creature that they belonged to was truly trapped within its confines or was, in reality, encompassing his very being; his body and soul.

The breath he had not realized he was holding was only released when those eyes suddenly disappeared behind the shadows as well, leaving him with a cold, and unresolved emptiness. The blond-haired boy shook his head and blinked his eyes rapidly, trying to shake the rest of the lingering stir of emotions away.

Slowly, almost unsurely, he broke a shaking hand forward to the edge of the cage. He turned his hand so his palm faced upwards, opened to present the now slightly mushed contents within.

"I-Its food," he began shakily, moving forward even closer when he got no response. "…for you…"

He leaned forward on his tiptoes, moving to dump the contents on the floor of the cage. They instead made their way to the muddy grass below as a large hand suddenly clasped his wrist and sharply twisted it downward. The youth cried in pain, other hand attempting to free the thick fingers that were looking to add the bones of his wrist to shattered nothings as the pebbles below their feet.

He was pulled forward roughly, large, angry eyes glaring back into his panicked ones.

"And what is it that you think you are doing here, boy?" His captor asked slowly, palming the blade on the belt at his left side. The younger gulped quietly, eyeing the weapon as it glinted gleefully under its masters fingers. A rough shake brought him back to attention.

"Answer the question, you damn fool!" the other roared, yellow-stained, black plaque teeth clenching in anger.

"N-nothing sir!" the boy squeaked, wincing for the upcoming pain that was sure to come his way. Instead, however, the man before him gently let him go; a look of surprise gracing his gruff, mangled, masculine features. The boy stared back in confusion.

"Nothing you say?" the older man said back in mock curiosity. He then looked back at the approaching men, pointing toward the youth. "You hear that, men? They boy here said he ain't done nothing with his time."

The others chuckled and rumbled in amusement, coming to a stop behind the largest of them all. The first man, too, chuckled quietly to himself, examining a clenched fist with calm amusement. Large, narrowed eyes then glanced sideways at the silent youth. A smirk tugged at the edge of his lips.

"Then I guess this will be for nothing then."

The large man swung his arm, ring covered fist full on connecting with the smaller's cheek, sending him sprawled across the floor with a pained grunt. The youth could barely register the resulting cruel laughter that echoed around him. He tried desperately to push himself up, past the pain. He needn't try as he was forcefully yanked upwards by the hem of his tunic, only to be thrown across the hard ground toward his supposed friends who gladly stopped his skidding body with kicks of their feet.

Hard fingers tangled in his hair, yanking him up once more and pulling his head backward to face their owner. Dark green eyes filled with sick glee stared back at him.

"You think that damned creature in there gives a damn of what happens to ya?" he asked smoothly, turning the youth's head to face the cage. The piercingly silver eyes were back, staring on in narrowed patience.

The man placed his face closer to the youth's so he, too, could face the cage as he whispered in his ear, "If anything it is angry that it cannot finish you off with its own filthy claws."

A 'shink' of a sword could be heard as the man brought the sharp metal over his head, throwing the boy to the ground. He looked back at his crew.

"We don't need any sentimental hearted fools in our band of men now do we, brothers?" he asked haughtily, receiving a collective roar of "NO LEADER!" in return. "I thought not."

He turned to bring the sword down and finish the show only to lose his footing as a harsh, random gust of wind knocked him on his back. He snarled, shoving away the others attempts to get him on his feet as he stomped to a standing. His eyes widened as he stared at the two figures before him.

"It's another one of those creatures, sir!" One of his men hollered, the others standing in attention with their weapons at hand.

Sparkling, green energy twirled around thin, ivory-kissed fingers, tendrils making their way upward into equally enchanting green eyes. White fangs peered from smirking, red lips.

"What a rude introduction." Maleficent tsked, glancing sideways at her companion with an even wider smirk. "Don't you agree, Diaval?"

"Quite rude," he grinned back at her. "I believe we should rectify this, Mistress."

The feary's wings twitched in excitement. "My thoughts exactly."

XXXXXX

The young man was pulled from the depths of unconsciousness by the sounds of grunts and yelped of pain and clashing metal. He groggily looked up to see a large-winged creature in the middle of the crowd of men tossing them about like pebbles skidding across a pond's surface. She was accompanied by an equally large black wolf that tore into their armor and rustled the metal and weapons from them.

He whimpered quietly as he struggled to stand, ignoring the gradual flow of blood sliding down his face and collecting on his clothes. Through the agony his thrumming ears managed to catch the sound of sizzling and the smell of something burning wafted his nose. He looked up to see an arm reaching through the small spaces of bars in the cage, a stick grasped between slender fingers as it attempted to snag on the bunch of keys laid discarded a few feet below. One of the others must have lost them in the fight.

As the young man stared on, it was only then that he registered strained hisses and pain-filled snarls of the creature attempting to grab at its freedom. The arm was in the processing of becoming fully charred as it pressed against the iron of the cage, jerking and twisting in desperation to get its prize before it was too late.

He groaned as he padded toward the cage, slumping down before the keys and slowly picking them up. A quietly hissed cursed flew from the cage as the branch was left on the ground and the arm retreated back into the cage. Blood soaked bangs swished slightly as the young man looked at the cage, seeing nothing but shadows once more.

With a deep breath he heaved himself up onto his feet once more and turned to the cage.

"Imma…Imma letyouout…" he slurred, the pain making the world spin around him. The key was the forcefully jammed into the lock, unsuccessfully twisted about to get it to open before a heaven sent 'click' was finally heard. He grinned goofily at his achievement as he swung the hatch open and waited for the creature to escape of into the bright sky. But nothing happened. He frowned and went to look inside the cage as someone called from behind him.

"WATCH OUT!"

He turned to watch in horror as an axe was soaring its way to his head. A loud growl sounded from behind him in the caged and a heavy force suddenly slammed him to the ground; the whoosh and wind of the ax flying mere inches above his head before getting stuck inside the now empty cage.

Brown eyes tried to blink the dizziness away as he looked up at his 'savior.' The same stunning silver eyes glared back at him, only now attached to a lot more than darkness. He stared up in awe as his gaze sluggishly travel further from those eyes to see porcelain skin of a slender face with full pink lips; accented by deep russet colored hair with highlights of black, brown and gold, much like the leaves of the forests that are scattered during autumn as the tresses blanketed his own face.

He blinked slowly before muttering kindly, "My…name…is…John."

Those pink lips pulled back into a sneer, proudly showing glinting white pearls of fangs as silver eyes narrowed. John grinned lazily back up at the creature before letting his head loll to the side and let the unconsciousness claim him once more. He did manage to hear one last thing before going out.

"My name is Belladonna…"

XXXXX

The large-winged faery smacked away from her the last of the men, hissing at the ones who picked themselves up off the ground. They looked at her wearily before retreating away from the woods toward the main roads. She straightened herself out, huffing in triumph and casually brushing the dirt off her long sleeves.

She turned to see her partner chasing off the rest of the men before trotting toward her. With a flick of her fingers, the wolf starched and expanded into a tall, slender man; one of which who was looking greatly unamused.

Maleficent graced him with a blank look.

"Don't start with me, Diaval." She heaved a sigh of irritation rivaling the raven's. He bristled, watching as pushed past him.

"We talked about this!" he complained with a throw of his arms. "I will gladly be turned into anything but a mangy mongrel!"

The guardian of the Moors rolled her light emerald eyes, stopping momentarily to give him a sideways glare.

"The situation called for brute force and swiftness, both of which a wolf can provide." She explained, continuing to walk away.

He blanched. "Really?" He jogged to her to come up at her side. "You turned me into a dragon not a few weeks ago," he countered. "That would have been more than sufficient in this situation!"

"Be silent, Diaval." Maleficent sighed once more ignoring his continued grumblings and stopping before the unconscious boy still lying on the ground. She kneeled down, brushing her fingers across his bloodied forehead and down his neck.

"He's still alive," she said, tilting his head. "Just minor wounds…He will heal."

She stood to her full height once more, looking around.

"Where's the faery that was captured?" Diaval asked, voicing her concerns aloud. The black-haired man peered into the cage before looking up into the trees. There was no sign of her anywh-

"OOF!"

Diaval groaned as he was tackled from behind, causing him to ungracefully face plant into the dirt below. Fingers tangled up in his hair, yanking up his head as a blade was pressed up to his neck. He shivered as a hiss blew in his ear.

"Don't move, human." The being above him sneered, pushing the sharp weapon even closer into his skin.

The raven-man choked in discomfort. "N-not human…!"

"That is enough." Maleficent's voice sounded behind him. He then felt the weight upon his lift up off him and the blade fall to a thud before him. He quickly pushed himself back up to see the new faery being suspended in air by the larger's magic, snarling and hissing in panic and anger.

His mistress gave the other a lopsided grin, bringing the struggling form closer to her. "A bit more feral than the last time we met aren't we, little one?"

The younger faery paused, looking down in shock.

"Maleficent?" She asked in disbelief. Said faery smiled warmly at her, gently placing her down on her feet.

"The one and only."

The other continued to stare at her wordlessly with sharp, silver eyes. Diaval watched the exchange for a moment at a distance before curiosity overcame him and he approached them slowly.

"Well, Mistress," he began hesitantly, startling slight when the smaller of the two fear's whipped around and hissed at him. He smiled nervously down at her, before giving Maleficent a nervous look. "Are you going to introduce me to this," he hesitated once more, searching for the right words in those predatory eyes. "Proud warrior, you so graciously have the pleasure of knowing?"

The young faery calmed, straightening herself and beaming silently in a new air of confidence. The guardian watched the display with a hidden smirk before answering,

"Why yes of course, how rude of me." She coughed in an attempt to wipe the amusement from her face. "Diaval, this here is a very good friend I met once upon a time ago," she smiled, gesturing to the girl. "Belladonna."

He calmed at that, figuring if this faery had managed to be "good friends" with Maleficent, then there was a chance he would survive in her presence in this meeting.

"It is truly an honor," he bowed, offering his hand to her with a smile. Belladonna looked at his hand almost distastefully before looking away with her arms crossed.

"Charmed." She answered curtly, discreetly studying the man before her from head to toe.

Diaval straightened and lowered his hand awkwardly, looking to his friend with a deep frown. She shrugged and wave him off, giving a look that clearly said, "Don't worry about her." She then approached her old friend, placing a gentle hand on the burns and cuts scattered across autumn-patterned wings. Belladonna yelped and swiftly jumped away, glaring at her.

"That. Hurts." She growled, baring her fangs.

"As lovely as ever." Maleficent retorted with a roll her eyes. She placed hand behind the other and pushed her forward, causing her to stumble slightly and throw her another glare. The older faery pointed to the woods.

"Get moving," she ordered with another shove. "We need to get those wounds taken care of." Belladonna stepped forward to say something but was cutoff with a wave of a hand. She yelped as she was, once again, unceremoniously floating in the air again.

"You cannot fly with those wounds on you wings," the guardian explained before the other could start. She went to push herself into the sky before pausing, looking at her friend. "And while you are healing, you can explain to me what business you have here, so far away from home."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"OW! You're hurting me, woman!"

'SMACK'

"OW! What was that for?!"

"For talking back, child."

Diaval snickered in thought, watching the display below from his perch on a branch in his true form. Maleficent had the new faery, Belladonna, sitting before her as she tended to her wounds. First, she would clean them with the crystal clear water of the stream before them before rubbing in some herbal paste into them. Lastly she bandaged them up to keep them from the forces of the environment. A simple process really, if not for the younger's constant gripes and growls, prompting a certain guardian to put her in her place with a good smack in the head.

Belladonna grumbled with her arms cross, wincing as Maleficent began cleaning of the cut on her cheek. Metallic-like eyes peered up from behind russet bangs as a smiling blond-haired woman approached them with a basket in hand.

"I brought more of the bandages you needed, Godmother." Aurora said, gently placing the basket beside them. Belladonna studied her for a while before sniffing in disinterest and turning away. Aurora just continued to smile pleasantly at her.

Maleficent smiled softly at her. "Thank you, my Little Beastie." She then looked down expectantly at the young faery. Said faery tilting her nose upward in an arrogant gesture. She yelped as a harsh tug at her made her look upwards into a glittering green gaze. Another expectant look.

Belladonna sighed, letting her head loll to the side to give Aurora a bored look. "I am so very grateful, Miss Aurora." She said in a mockingly sweet voice. Aurora only giggled back, causing her to wrinkle her nose in annoyance. She growled as a hard flick landed on the tip of her ear, clasping it to shield it from further retaliation as she glared back at the other faery.

"What?"

Maleficent gave her a pointed look. "That is Queen Aurora to you, little one." She corrected.

Belladonna straightened suddenly, boy tensed and wings arched high as she gave Aurora a shocked look up and down. "You're the Queen of the United Kingdoms?"

Aurora and her companions looked at each other strangely. She then looked back at their new acquaintance.

"Why, yes I am…" she answered slowly. "Is there a problem?"

Belladonna fidgeted nervously as the others pinned her own with inquisitive looks. She then scoffed and looked away, hiding her eyes beneath her bangs. She hesitated and shrugged before answering,

"You're just…younger than I would expect a…Queen to be..." she finally answered, putting a strange emphasis on her title of royalty. Maleficent and Diaval noted it with an exchange of suspicious looks but Aurora simply smiled wider and shrugged.

"I know, I am a bit young to be the Queen of two kingdoms," she agreed with a laugh. "But with the great love and support I have," she continued, looking to Maleficent and Diaval who looked at her back with soft eyes. "I will definitely try to do my best with our kingdom."

Belladonna's eyes scanned her companions before flashing a seemingly forced smile to Aurora and nodding. "I'm sure you would."

Emerald eyes studying the being before them before closing with a sigh. Maleficent gracefully stood up, pinning the young faery with a stern yet curious look.

"Now that your wounds are tended to, I believe it is time you start answering my questions, Belladonna."

The other looked up warily at her, slowly pushing herself to a stand and staring nervously at Aurora, Maleficent and, the now human-formed, Diaval. Silver eyes then looked back to the older faery.

"What do you want to know?"


	2. Chapter 2

**A****/N: Here's chapter 2! Time to get this lil' story of mine out of my head and onto the screen! R&R and enjoy! **

**X****XXXXXX**

Maleficent studied her for a while, green eyes roving over her face. Belladonna watched her back, just as patiently.

"What are you doing here, Belladonna?" The older faery finally asked. The other's wings ruffled a bit before she shrugged.

"Thought I would go out and see what the world had to offer me." She answered, brushing some bangs away from her eyes. The guardian sighed, shaking her head with an unamused smirk before looking back down at her friend.

"How poetic," she snorted. "Now tell me the _real_ reason why you are here."

Belladonna's nose crinkled annoyance. "What more do you want from me, woman?" she sneered, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. "I wanted to leave Spirit Echo! So I did!"

"Is that where you live?" Aurora asked, stepping forward and cutting off the impending argument between the two. The younger faery visibly deflated, looking away from the young Queen.

"Yes," she muttered, cross her arms over her chest and giving a sideways glare at her the other faery. "Maleficent and I lived there with our families when we were younglings."

"And only one of us grew to become a mature adult, obviously." Maleficent teased, earning a growl and an angry flutter of wings. She then became serious once more. "Though our history has nothing to do with why you are here today," she pointed out.

Belladonna shifted nervously, looking down and kicking a few pebbles that lay undertow.

"I had a falling out with Elder Nuva, alright?" she finally conceded, looking away from them with a deep frown on her face. Maleficent stared at her in shock before understanding relaxed her features as she continued to stare down at the sulking faery.

The others looked confused, looking to each other to ensure that they were just as lost in this conversation. Maleficent looked up, feeling the awkward tenseness in the air. The silence was irritating, especially when not even the sound of constant chattering pixies were to be heard. She sighed, gazing back at the confused and expectant eyes of her loved ones.

"Elder Nuva is the umm…" she hesitated, rolling her hand her hand around as though the gesture would help her look for the word faster. "Leader of sorts."

Diaval looked confused, eyes wandering back to the young female, who was throwing herself into a quick depression as her back was turn to them. He watched her quietly before he asked, "What do you mean of sorts?"

"Back at Spirit Echo, there is council of elders leading over the kingdom," she answered, pushing past them and walking toward the upset faery; placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and squeezing in comfort.

"They, along with the Seekers, take watch over the land and all the inhabitants within it."

"And who are the Seekers?" Knotgrass piped up, having suffered from silence in far too long in her opinion.

"They are a group of hand-picked, specially trained warriors to act as guardians to the Elders and their people." Maleficent said, turning the other around gently and grasping her chin. She tilted her head up, looking down into anxious, metallic eyes. Said eyes looked up pitifully at her, such a swarm of emotions burning through them that Maleficent had a hard time sorting them out.

After a while of staring at each other in another awkward silence, Belladonna growled, pushing Maleficent away and walking past her to stop in front of the stream. The sparkling water offered her the perfect reflection of her grimacing face. She then looked back to her friend who was watching her with expectant patience.

Belladonna broke the silence with a heavy sigh, straightening up and running her gaze over the group. Stern, temperamental eyes stopped their travel as they got to Aurora. The young woman felt as if she was pinned to her place with bounds of thick heavy ropes as a heavy cloud enclosed her. She felt as she was drowning in the gaze. It was definitely the gaze of a predator, just as graceful as her Godmother's but with the promise of something. And she was exactly sure if that promise would be one that was well received.

"I'm going through the trials."

Aurora startled, blue eyes shuttering in confusion as she was abruptly pulled out of the trance she just realized she was in. She looked up to see Belladonna was no longer staring at her, but facing Maleficent. The others were too enthralled with the conversation that they were paying no mind to her. She blinked in surprise as she noticed she seemed to be the only one fazed by the exchange between herself and Belladonna.

'Was it all just my imagination playing tricks on me?' she thought, replaying the moment over and over in her head.

Maleficent looked down at the other, her eyes wide and lips parted in shock. She shook it off quickly, however, to fix the younger with motherly concerned anger. "What?"

Belladonna rolled her eyes. "I said: I'm going through the trials." She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Thistletwit bit her lip, floating toward them and raising her hand up nervously. "Umm…-"

The young fairy threw back her head and groaned in exasperation. "By all that is powerful…The trials are the tests you must take in order to become a Seeker!" she snapped impatiently, sticking out four fingers in the other creature's face. "There are four of them! Valor, Endurance, Power and Redemption!" she growled, pointing at each finger.

Thistletwit winced, nodding rapidly and moving back to safety in between her sisters.

"Oh! Oh, yes,yes..of course…" she muttered nervously, shaking slightly and clinging to Knottgrass and Flittle who clung back in comfort. Belladonna snorted and looked away, feeling a little bad for hurting the pixie's feelings. Just a little.

Maleficent stepped back directly in her line of sight, clenching her staff harshly. "And how many tests have you completed thus far?"

The other brought a clawed hand to brush through her russet, black and gold-kissed hair. "I only have one left." She sighed heavily, dropping her hand back to her side as her shoulders sagged. The iron cage was starting to become very appealing at this point.

The guardian frowned. The trials went by order, pushing the warrior to their uttermost limits and then some. It was an assurance to see their worth as elite guardians in the eyes of those they protect. But the last trial was different. It sounded honorable enough, but the tasks assigned couldn't be farther from it. This time, you would have to prove your worth not to your people, but to the Elders themselves. They expected nothing less than complete loyalty from those they chose, no words or actions would change their minds of this. You do as you are told, when you are told, and no questions are to be asked. They aren't needed. They are your leaders, and you give yourself to them completely; including complete, undeniable trust.

"You are going through Redemption…" Maleficent murmured softly, feeling her wings droop slightly as her friend nodded, her own frown on her face. The emerald-eyed faery shook her head in disbelief. "Let me guess," she started, looking at the other sadly. "This trial is concerning your father…is it not?"

Belladonna bristled, wings twitching and fangs baring. That was all the confirmation Maleficent needed. She stepped toward her once more, attempting to comfort and calm her only to be swatted away…again.

"I do not need your _pity_!" the younger snapped. "Or your blessings!"

She turned away, stomping a few feet ahead. Her wings spread wide, ready for flight. She paused, looking back toward Maleficent sternly. "The only thing I need…Is to get this over with."

And with that, she was gone with a gust of wind.

The others looked at each other, a mix of nervous sadness. Aurora stepped forward, wrapping her arms around one of her guardian's.

"Will…Will she be okay, Godmother?" Sleeping Beauty asked. Maleficent tilted her head to her, looking down with a small, sad smile. She patted one of her hands gently.

"She will be," she assured, looking back up in the sky. "I will make certain of that. But for now, we should allow her some time to breathe." She turned, leading her goddaughter and the pixies away.

Diaval hesitated for a moment, feeling a plague of emotions. He was hardly related to any of this, and yet…he felt a strange, powerful compulsion to do something. What? He wasn't so sure, but he had to do it.

Noticing a certain raven-man wasn't following, the large-winged faery turned.

"Diaval," she began, noting as he continued to stare strangely up at the sky. "The little terror will be fine…"

The man turned, nodding to his Mistress but still looking unconvinced. He gave one last look at the sky before following his friends down the slope of grass.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

A large burst of hot, red energy engulfed a bush, turning it into nothing but ash in a matter of seconds. Another blast followed it second later, this time slicing through a thick, old tree trunk. The large shield of nature rocked back and forth slightly in the wind before finally topping over with the sounds of snapping vines, cracking wood and, finally, a loud 'thud.'

Belladonna stood behind it, panting in the picture of anger as her hands were enveloped in the same red, hot energy.

"There are going to be quite a few that are not going to be happy with you destroying their homes."

The female whipped around, ready for battle with…the grinning face of Diaval. She blanched, staring at him unamusedly before growling.

"What could you possibly want, crow." She sneered, straightening herself from her crouch and brushing off some remnants of wood from her black sleeves. She was surprised when she heard a scoff from him, turning to glance at him.

"I am a raven, not a crow." He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It is the same thing!" she rolled her eyes, mimicking his arm crossing.

The man sighed, throwing his hands in the air. "No wonder you and Maleficent are friends! She believes that dogs and wolves are the same as well as crows and ravens!"

Belladonna stared at him with an annoyed look. "Ravens are a type of crow and dogs originated from wolves." She stated simply. Diaval shook his head, waving her off.

"I'm still a raven, end of story."

The female groaned, stalking away. The _raven_ followed. She spun around, catching him off guard as she came face to face with him.

"What, in the name of all that is holy, do you want?!" she growled through clenched teeth and balled fists. Diaval studied her face quietly before his normal grin returned to his face.

"I thought I would brighten your day with my presence." He said smoothly, leaning over her with an even bigger grin. Belladonna's eyes shuttered momentarily in embarrassment and surprise before narrowing. She pushed him away and stomped in the other direction.

"I would rather jump in a blacksmith's cauldron of molten iron." She hissed. She heard a chuckle, pausing to turn around to yell at him only to have him calmly walk passed her. He turned once he got a few feet ahead, smiling.

"Walk with me?" he asked sweetly, bowing and offering his hand as he did when they first met. She stared at it, this time in surprise before swatting it away and walking past him.

"I was walking that way anyway." She said haughtily, nose in the air. He watched her walk away quietly, chuckling and shaking his head as he followed.

XXXXXXXXX

Diaval watched in silence as the young, female faery climbed a large peach tree. Her wings were still injured from her capture and her upset-fueled fly off just made the process of them healing all the more slower. Not to mention they were achingly irritating her if her grumbles and winces were anything to go by.

"Crow!"

The black-cladded shape shifter looked up just in time to catch a round object heading straight for his face. He gave the grinning faery an annoyed look before looking at his hand. His eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the plump, juicy peach in his hand. He then looked back up at the female.

Belladonna's wings twitched as those eyes stared up at her with something akin to awe. She snorted, ripping her gaze away from his.

"Don't look at me like that." She snapped. "It fell from the same branch I was pulling at to get mine…No point in letting it go to waste." She explained, promptly taking a chunk from her prize. Diaval grinned from behind his own peach as he began eating it.

His mind then began traveling back to Maleficent as he sat down with his back against another tree. He drummed his fingers on his thigh nervously before looking back up at his companion. He startled when he saw that Belladonna was already staring at him. She flinched at having been caught, eyes roving around the rest of the forest in an attempt to play it off. He continued to watch her, not sure how to feel about it before he returned to his previous thoughts.

"Maleficent really cares about you, you know…" he murmured, studying her face. Her wings wilted slightly as she frowned, slumping back against the tree trunk.

"I'm…aware of that." She answered back awkwardly.

The raven paused, looking down at his half eaten peach. "How did you two become friends, anyway?"

He sat straighter in surprise as the young female burst out into laughter. The sound was quite melodic and pleasant, considering her snarky attitude.

Belladonna shook her head, still chuckling as her silver stars for eyes twinkled and became distant in memory. "We were just little ones at the time. I was chasing this little salamander I found near a river. I followed it all the way down the bank. I was so distracted with its pretty colors that I didn't notice anyone else around me and before I knew it…I bumped someone into the water."

She burst out laughing again and it was so contagious that Diaval felt himself chuckle. "Maleficent was so angry that she ended up chasing _me_ around the river!"

She grinned throwing her bitten peach from one hand to the other. "Well, until I slipped on one of the river stone paths that I used to try to get away from her." She shook her head in humor. "Me playing near the river was a mother's worst nightmare," she looked down at Diaval with a lazy grin. "I didn't know how to swim."

Russet hair gently caressed her face as she leaned her head back against the trunk, looking up at the fluffy, white clouds.

_XXXXX_

_A small bundle was shivering under the light brown shawl, quiet sniffs and growls emanating from it. The other watched her quietly, green eyes crinkling from the sides in annoyance and concern._

"_That is what you get for pushing me in the river in the first place." The brown-haired, child fairy muttered, sitting beside the other girl. Tiny, silver eyes glared back up at her. _

"_It was an accident!" she snapped, breaking out into a sneeze and pulling the shawl closer to her body. She squeaked as she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and move her into a warm body; small, yet larger than her, wings shielded her from the chilly wind. She looked up in shock as the other looked back down at her with a giggle._

"_You're forgiven," she teased, giggling gain as the other just grumbled. "My name is Maleficent, by the way." She said with a smile._

_The other looked up, hesitating before smiling back. "I'm Belladonna."_

_Maleficent smiled widely, "I think we are going to be best friends."_

_Belladonna stared back at her in shock. "Really?" she squeaked, eyes puppy-dogging into hope._

_Maleficent laughed, pulling her new friend to her feet. "Definitely."_

_XXXXXXXX_

Belladonna smiled softly, shaking her head. "It sounds so ridiculous! How can you know someone is going to be your best friend just by looking at them?" she paused, wings fluttering as she looked at her lap. "But she was…she was my best friend…we were always there for each other…"

She trailed off, Diaval tensing when he watched the smile on her face slowly melt off her face and mold back into a frown. She growled, throwing the remains of her peach to the ground, startling some animals that were roaming the forest floor.

"We weren't even together that long…before she left," she continued after a seemingly never-ending silence. "Her parents thought it would be nice to _'travel the world'_ and what not," she sneered, waving her hand as though to smack away the memories. "Things just seemed to go down-hill from there…"

"With your father?" Diaval piped up before he was able to stop himself. And he knew he should have stopped himself as that predatory look returned to the once beautifully smiling face with a vengeance.

He hesitated, standing up quickly as she jumped down from her perch and growled at him. He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry," he practically whispered. "I did not mean to bring up bad memories."

The sincerity in the voice made her deflate almost instantly, stepping back awkwardly. The raven took that as a good sign, stepping forward and opening his mouth to speak. She cut him off.

"I do not wish to talk about it."

Black hair bobbed as he nodded slowly. He then looked at her and eyes roved over her features. He then placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, wincing as she flinched away from him for a moment before calming.

"Thank you." He murmured kindly.

Her head shot up, eyes wide. "For what?"

He grinned. "For brightening my day with your presence!" he chuckled, stomach flipping as the female giggled. He then smiled softly as she looked back up at him. "And for opening up to me."

Belladonna shrugged, unwillingly feeling her face get hot and praying to everything that it didn't show on her face. She then smirked up at him, eyes twinkling with mirth. "And thank you for gracing me with your person," she teased, punching him gently on the shoulder. "You are a good listener…for a crow." She added, laughing as the shape shifter sighed in exasperation.

"I'm a raven!" he whined, watching her as she walked past him toward the Moors. She looked back at him with a scoff. He cut her off. "I'm better looking than a measly crow!" he said, running up to her.

They walked beside each other in calm silence.

"It's the same thing." Belladonna broke it, grinning wildly and running deeper in the forest, as Diaval stomped in place in frustration before chuckling and running on after her.

Neither seemed to notice the deep black, golden-slitted eyes connected to a shadowed figure that were glowing in the trees above them, watching their every move.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoyed 4**__**th**__** of July or a regular Friday night for anyone else. Either way, hopefully you had fun and stayed safe!**_

_**I want to thank all of you keeping up with this story and supporting it, I really hope you are enjoying this read as much as do in writing it! **_

_**And with that, on with the drama! :D**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Maleficent or the movie's characters, just my OC and this plot. Thank you.**_

**XXXX**

Silver eyes narrowed as they watched the frenzy of creatures before them. Humans, pixies, trolls and more were running around throughout the castle's grounds. The noise and hustle was so deafening and distracting, but there were nothing but good vibes filling each of the grandiose rooms.

Belladonna ducked as a few leaf fairies rushed by overhead, giggling and chattering excitedly. She rolled her eyes, growling as she narrowly avoided a group of Wallerbogs stampeding in between her feet with chortles of their own. She couldn't fathom how a simple ball could put everyone in such a thrilled mood.

The young female pushed through the crowds, sighing in relief as she found a quiet hallway safe from all the hustle and bustle. She looked around in awe, the hallway was just as enormous and royally decorated as the rest of the castle.

She walked over to a marble and gold rimmed vase on a stand, running a clawed, black-gloved hand to trace the colors.

"This castle is so damn big, I will get lost in it before I can get any work done," she grumbled, turning to lean back against a wall, being mindful of her wings.

"I would be glad to show you around, if you like."

Her head shot up, looking up to see the young Queen staring quietly at her. Belladonna's wings twitch in nervousness, pushing herself away from the wall. She crossed her arms and looked away.

"Shouldn't the _Queen_ be busying herself with other affairs?" she asked haughtily, examining her claws in mock interest.

Aurora twiddled her fingers and shifted her feet, feeling the awkwardness crawl up her spine.

"All of the events have already been well-planned to be taken care of, thanks to my God Mother," she finally answered with a half-smile. It quickly fell as she noticed she was being ignored by the young fearing favor of examining her claws.

"Look," Aurora shifted awkwardly in place. "I understand you're not too fond of me-"

She was cut off.

"That's vastly understated…"

The newly appointed Queen gaped at her.

Belladonna watched her with feign indifference. Perhaps she went too far? It wouldn't be in her best interest to make enemies so early in the game. Right when she began feeling a bit of guilt creeping up, her mind shrugged. The child started it, and she wasn't a liar, so she confirmed it.

"I don't understand…"

The murmur yanked the silver-eyed faery from her troubled thoughts.

"What is there to understand?" she shrugged, looking away. "Your kind are unpleasant company."

"My kind?" Aurora echoed, an unaccustomed anger slowly bubbling through her veins. "What do you mean by that?"

Belladonna snorted, sauntering over until she came face to face with the younger female. Blades for eyes narrowed in a disdained look. Aurora felt as if she was chained to place, the anger she once felt drowning in replaced panic and fear. She desperately hoped someone, anyone, would come and break off the mounting tension.

The feary stared into blue pools, seeing the rush of emotions. She could practically taste the fear surrounding the young woman and it left a bad taste in her mouth. With a grimace she forced herself to move away, stepping backwards and leaving a good space in between them.

Aurora felt air rush into her lungs as she took a breath she now became aware she was holding. Tremors were beginning to run through her body from the panic high. She wasn't sure if she wanted to cry, scream, run or do it all. But all she could do was stand there and watch numbly as the feary turned to walk down the hallway.

The Queenling felt her body move and mouth open before her brain could catch up.

"Wait…" she croaked, feeling the tenseness return as the feary complied, back still turned to her.

Belladonna turned her head, russet, highlighted hair covering her eyes. "Humans have a nasty knack of getting rid of things they don't want or need."

She was gone before her last words could even be processed.

But her words continued to bounce back and forth in the blond woman's mind as she stared down at the polished wooden floors.

XXX

Emerald eyes had quietly watched the scene unfold, plump, ruby lips falling to a frown. Maleficent knew this would happen, albeit not so soon.

She continued to watch as her goddaughter took a forced step forward. Then another. And another. Before finally Aurora burst into a full out run toward her quarters, tears streaming down her flushed cheeks. The whole situation finally hit her full force, breaking down the barriers and allowing the flood of emotions loose.

The elegant feary lowered her eyes sadly, torn between her options of remedying the situation. After a few moments of pondering, she straightened herself back up and walked down the hallway.

XXX

Belladonna was perched on a branch of an old, large willow tree. She quietly watched a few water fairies giggling as they skated across the cold, river water, splashing each other in their fun. Pointed ears twitched as they sense someone land behind her. She pulled herself in an even tighter ball.

"I had a confrontation with your goddaughter today."

Maleficent stared at her in shock. Belladonna…opening up to her mistakes without an interrogation? Even with one, she still wouldn't do so.

The young faery gave her a look, wings twitching.

"That's what you came to speak to me about, correct?"

The older female felt her own wings twitch, lips pursing in awkwardness.

"Perhaps…" she admitted, studying the brooding female as the other looked away from her in favor of the sparkling river and its inhabitants.

Minutes seemed nothing short of hours as the silence marched on. Now that she was here, Maleficent wasn't exactly sure how to approach the subject without creating an even bigger scene to deal with. Her friend just had to be the bundle of joy she was, now didn't she?

Right when she had a whole speech planned out, she noticed the other's wings suddenly perk up, head shooting up to stare off to the side. Her gaze followed, landing on a certain raven-man chattering animatedly with Thistletwit below. She looked back at her old companion with interest, noticing the contented flutter of wings as silver eyes roved over the male figure. Maleficent grinned, a positively mischievous one at that.

She leaned down, her lips hovering over the other's ear, her breath causing it to twitch. "He is unmated, you know…"

Her grin only deepened as metallic eyes turned to her, wide in shock.

Belladonna quickly wiped of the shocked look with annoyance, sneering, "I haven't the slightest idea what you are talking about, woman." She growled as her friend retorted with an amused, 'Of course, you don't.'

The young faery shook her head, resting her chin back on her knees as she focused her gaze back on the changer. She startled as she noticed he was staring back, having noticed them and waving 'hello.' Maleficent smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgment, Belladonna, on the other hand, graced him with her tongue as she stuck it out at him in distaste. They heard him chuckle as he brought his hand to his lips and promptly blew her a kiss in response.

She blanched, looking up at Maleficent with flushed cheeks as her friend openly laughed. She grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared down at the raven. He just grinned at her before turning to walk down the stream, leaving them in privacy.

Maleficent shook her head as she let out the last of her chuckles. "Within the two days you have been here, you have made friends as well as enemies."

She paused as she realized what she said, watching as the younger's wings fell.

"I didn't mean to cause you trouble, Luna…" Belladonna murmured, looking up with sincerity. She was graced with a small smile in return.

"I know you didn't, Sol…"

The guardian then frowned.

"But that does not change what happened between you and Aurora…" she continued.

Belladonna sighed, pushing herself up and looking up at the other with exhausted eyes.

"Look, can we talk about this later?" she asked, stepping backward to the tip of the branch, balancing well as it bent downward under her weight. "The sun is setting," She continued, pointing at the darkening sky. "And I have work to do…"

She took the last step, falling backward into the air, arching her wings, twisting her body and taking off with the wind. As she made on her way, she noticed Diaval crouching over the stream, splashing water on his face. She smirked, tilting as she passed over him, smacking him into the water with her wing; cackling as she shot up into the sky.

The magical raven dove out of the water in a panic, clutching onto the mossy grass on the bank and spluttering as he pulled himself out of the water. He looked up at the sky in shock, looking at his Mistress as she approached him calmly; a look of slight amusement in her eyes.

"Did you see what she did to me?!" he cried, shaking the water from his sleeves and ringing out the water from his shirt. He looked absolutely scandalized as he glanced back up at the sky. "Why does she hate me so much?"

He looked back down at Maleficent as she chuckled.

"That's the problem," Maleficent answered, walking past him. "She doesn't...She happens to like you very much…"

Diaval snorted, letting go of his soaked clothes and following her, grimacing at the loud 'squelches' that erupted from his feet at every step. "Well then, you faeries have a strange way of showing affection."

The dark-haired feary humphed in return, eyes clouded in thought. He frowned.

"What happened between Belladonna and Aurora?" he asked, unsure if he would like the response. He loved Aurora with all of his heart, she was like his own hatchling. But…he wasn't sure he would want to have to hate Belladonna for doing anything to his Queen. She might be a sarcastic, little brat…but he just couldn't help being interested, despite his shivering skin telling him it would be better if he wasn't.

Maleficent sighed, shaking her head. "Belladonna just needs to work of her social skills, that's all."

"That is drowning it in sugar," he gripped, both of them chuckling. He knew there was more to it than that, he wasn't stupid after all, but he decided it was best to leave it at that. If it was deemed serious enough, his Mistress would certainly tell him about it. Or so he hoped…

He then looked down at her with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Sooo," he began, prompting an inquisitive look from her. "Luna and Sol, is it?"

Maleficent scoffed, waving him off with a smile. "Just a little joke between us…"

Diaval arched an eyebrow, curiosity still unsated.

"Back at Spirit Echo, all the others use to claim we were such an unlikely pair of friends," she smiled softly, baring the same distant, happy look that Diaval had seen on Belladonna's face the day before. "They said were as different as night and day," she grinned up at him. "I was as quiet and graceful as the moon at night and Belladonna as out there and fiery as the sun in day…Hence Luna and Sol."

Diaval smirked. "Quite appropriate actually."

Maleficent nodded. "Yes…" she frowned. "I just hope Sol doesn't burn anyone…or herself."

XXX

The moon casted dark shadows over the high, brick walls of the castle. The light licked at the glimmering armory of the soldiers protecting the gates, windows and any other weak points. A black, cloaked figure surveyed the scene through the cover of darkness and bushes.

It crept forward, hiding behind a couple of horses tied to a stand near the bridge leading to the castle gates. They squealed in nervousness at the newcomer, prompting the attention of some guards as they looked over. The figure hushed them quietly, gently petting down their manes and patting their necks. They calmed almost immediately, causing no further alarm for the guards as they continued off to patrol elsewhere.

Finding it safe to continue on, the figure straightened up, moving to the bridge only to duck back under the cover of the horses as new guards were coming back down toward it. The shadow growled, looking down at the reigns clinging to the post. Pulling out a black-polished knife, the figure cut the reigns and smacked the horses on their rears, startling them into a stampede away from the castle. The guards watched in surprise before running after their animal-transportations, calling for further back up as several more guards joined in the chase. The figure moved away from its hiding place, looking around to make sure no one was around before bounding down the bridge.

It slowed to a stop as it approached the large gate, examining the large locks and chains over the lever to lower it. It pulled out its blade once more, looking down at it then back up at the locks. The hooded figure shook its head, hiding the blade back in its cloaked before approaching the wall. It placed both hands on the brick, sharp nails prodding out the finger tips and digging into the wall. With a last look around to make sure the coast was clear, the shadow began scaling the wall, reaching the top in a matter of seconds.

The figure pulled itself up over the edge, quickly ducking into the shadow blocked corners as two guards walked by, blissfully unaware. Noticing a window at the top of the other story, the figure waited for the guards to disappear inside before promptly climbing that wall as well.

As it made it to the window, its blade was in hand as it slid it in between the metal-rimmed window panes, wriggling open the lock with a small 'click.'

XXX

Aurora was yanked out of her troubled dreams by a small sound in the silence of her dark room. She brushed her bed-hair off of her face, looking around the room. Wide, blue eyes stopped at her open window, the wind blow the curtains eerily. She frowned, she didn't remember opening her window.

She timidly slid out of her bed, slowly approaching the window; every now and then gasping and startling as the shadows of the room played with her fear. As she approached her window, she poked her head out, looking around only to see the guards at their posts, as usual. She sighed, feeling herself calm down slightly as she closed her window, making sure she locked it tightly.

As she turned, she froze as she felt something heavy dropped behind her. Shaking, she closed her eyes as she turned back around slowly. She felt the thing in front of her shift, heart beating rapidly as she opened her eyes. She looked in shock…There was nothing.

She stood there breathing rapidly, eyes flickering around the room as she questioned her own sanity. 'I'm just tired, that's all.' She reasoned, turning to go back to bed. She gave one last investigative sweep around the room before crawling back into bed, pulling the covers over her.

She counted sheep in an attempt to ease back into rest. Her nose wrinkled as air blew gently across her forehead. She groaned, throwing the covers over her face to shield her from the wind. Wait…wind? The window was closed there was no way-

The young Queen gasped, throwing the covers off of her and ready to jump out of bed only to be pressed down roughly. She went to scream only to have a sharp object pressed to the center of her throat. She whimpered pitifully as she looked up at her assailant, seeing nothing but black. The figure motioned for her to be silent, pulling the black blade away from her throat. It shifted above her, Aurora expecting it to get off of her only to suddenly raise its bladed hand up in the air, right above her chest. Her scream was unavailable in the horror as she watched it glint in the moonlight.

The shadow's shoulder tensed in preparedness for the kill only to stop as a loud thud resounding in the ceiling above. It looked up, waiting. Loud, heavy scurrying could be heard from above, prompting the sudden release of the Sleeping Beauty as the figure bounded off the bed and threw open the window.

Feeling the physical and psychological weight lift off her, Aurora screamed bloody terror.

The guards looked up in shock, only to see the black figure jumping out of the window and landing in front of them.

"Get him!" one of them yelled, pointing at the figure.

"Protect the Queen!" another yelled as all hell broke loose.

The figure rushed passed them, dodging spears and arrows alike as it jumped down story at a time.

Aurora pushed passed all the guards and servants that had entered her quarters to check and protect her, watching out the window as the figure was hunted down. She watched in awe as the shadow was shot in the back of the shoulder as it made its way over the bridge, arching in pain and stumbling off of it and into the muddy, running river below. Arrows continued to rain over the length of the river, only stopping when the captain order them to do so.

"Search the area!" she heard him call out, watching as the soldiers flooded around the river, shining their lanterns into the water.

"Over there!" one of them called out as the figure stumbled out of the water and staggeredly ran toward the forest. The guards gave chase once more with hardy battle cries, the armor clinking and screeching as they ran after the figure.

Aurora watched them as every last guard disappeared into the brush, their cries dying off into echoes. A maid walked over to here, wrapping her up in a shawl and pulling her toward the bed. She followed numbly.

"Come, my Lady, it is over now." The maid consoled. Aurora mentally shook her head, pulling the shawl closer to her body. No, she knew, deep down, that death was the only ending. Being hers…or that thing.

XXXXX

Belladonna huffed in exhaustion as she climbed over another large slope of grass. Damn her wings. They felt fine when she was flying and now, they were sore like hell. She should have listened to Maleficent to refrain from flying for at least a week.

She sighed in satisfaction as she finally made it to the center of the Moors, frowning and wings hiking up as she noticed everyone crowding the large tree- island in the middle of the water. As she crept closer she noticed Maleficent in the center with a sobbing Aurora clutching to her tightly, Diaval and the pixies cooing and murmuring to her in comfort.

The younger female crouched on the slope, wings tensing before she shot up in the air in a gust of wind, bounding over to land on the island. The crowd parted, allowing her through as she approached them.

"What's going on?" she asked, looking up at Maleficent who was gently patting the young woman's head. She looked up at her friend, emerald eyes the pool of anger.

"Someone attacked Aurora last night…" she finally answered as she swallowed up her swelling anger, instead choosing to rest her head on her goddaughters and murmur soft shushes to her. Belladonna's eyebrows rose in mild surprise, looking to the others for confirmation.

"She was attacked?"

The others nodded and before she could as more, the three little pixies came shooting toward her, hovering in her face.

"Yes and she said that the creature tried to kill her!" Knotgrass cried.

"He was dressed in all black, holding a blade to her neck!" Flittle continued.

"It was horrible…" Thistletwit whimpered, hugging herself tightly.

The young faery turned to the inconsolable Queenling, staring awkwardly at her.

"Are…are you alright?"

The blond woman nodded through whimpers and sniffles. "Y-yes…"

Belladonna nodded back, unsure of what else to say. She turned back as Diaval approached her, clutching something in his palm. He presented it to her, tight lipped and dark eyes.

"This was all that monster left behind." He spat out quietly, dropping the black blade in her hand. Silver eyes took it in, watching it glint in deadliness.

Diaval watched her quietly as she rolled it in her hands, frowning as he noticed something.

"What happened to your shoulder?"

Aurora gasped, looking up to see Diaval tenderly examine the torn, blood stain sleeve of the shirt, only to have his prying hands batted away in annoyance.

"I fell out of a tree while I was napping, crow!" she snapped, moving away from him as he again went to examine the wound. "Get away!" she growled, jumping away only to have him follow insistently.

Light, blue eyes never left the wound, behind them the scene of the night before stuck on a torturous replay.

'No…It couldn't be…could it?'


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Chapter 4! Enjoy, Read and Review PLZ! ^-^**_

_**XXXX**_

Aurora watched the grappling pair quietly, light blue eyes following their every move. After a week of being here, the United Kingdom was quick to learn of Belladonna's unequal speed and strength of her…

Boredom.

The young, female faery often found herself looking for constant sources of entertainment, mostly at the expense of the others. Maleficent once called her an "overgrown youngling that still needed her mother to suckle on," her immaturity making her insufferable at best. In response, Belladonna filled her friend's nest with hundreds of spider eggs, leaving it to be infested with the thousands upon thousands of little dots calling the whole tree their home. The loud squealing of the normally composed guardian that day was certainly something to see. Who would have thought the great Maleficent would have a fear of spiders? Especially considering she lived in the forest no less.

And now, Belladonna, the 'Belle of Mischievousness' as the villagers called her, now set her sights upon an unsuspecting Diaval.

They were in Aurora's quarters, still looking for her dress for the previously postponed Ball, and Belladonna got bored. Again. So to occupy herself, she quietly inched toward the raven-man dozing at the end of her bed, crouching before pouncing on him; sending them both tumbling to the ground with a loud yelp from the man.

And now, they were rolling about the wooden floor, each looking for victory.

The young Queen grinned slightly as she heard her Godmother mumble something about 'younglings' and their 'uncontrollable hormones,' before she turned away again to ignore them in favor of watching the pixies bicker.

Aurora continued to watch, her smile widening as Belladonna managed to wiggle out from beneath Diaval, promptly sitting on his back and knocking the wind out of him.

"And I am victorious!" she mockingly roared as she threw her hands up in show of waving to her adoring fans. She smirked when Diaval grumbled into the carpet beneath, leaning forward to gently pet the black hair.

The young woman had mixed feelings about their apparent growing feelings toward each other. In just a short amount of time, they had managed to become very close, despite Belladonna's overbearing nature to feign disinterest toward the raven. But they all saw past the ruse, even the raven himself, working diligently to push all of her buttons. But as Diaval pushed, Belladonna shoved. She always searched for a way to embarrass him in the biggest of ways. Once, she even managed to snatch his clothes as he was bathing in the showers at the top floor of the castle, cackling as an unrealizing, naked Diaval gave chase around the halls; leaving nothing to the imaginations of the long-time swooning maids. He sought his revenge, however, by in-turn grabbing all her clothing while she slept and dying it a bright pink, with the help of a grinning Maleficent.

Not surprisingly, the forest could not rest for the next few hours as the young faery went ballistic; roaring detailed, vulgar obscenities at the raven-man, and throwing fireballs at him as she hunted him down.

This strange back and forth became the norm for them, greatly complimenting their strange, building relationship.

Silver eyes twinkled as she stood up, stretching herself showingly before plopping herself on the bed, watching the man pick himself off the floor and dusting himself off with an annoyed look to her. She gave a fangly grin, long tongue poking out at him.

Her grin fell with her tongue still sticking out as she felt a gaze stab holes into the side of her head, making her ears twitch. She slowly sucked her tongue back into her mouth, sharply tuning her heard to see Aurora's silent gaze on her. Her wings quivered as she stared back.

The young Queen's eyes widened as she realized she got caught and quickly pushed her gaze to the right, making it as though she was looking past the other woman, not directly at her. Eyebrows arched above bladed eyes as they narrowed thoughtfully.

Belladonna hummed before she shot off of the bed, stretching her arms over her head once more and spreading her wings wide.

"Well," she groaned pleasantly. "Looks like these wings of mine would appreciate the wind of day." She gave the younger female a pointed look with a lopsided grin.

"Mind doing me the honor of a walk around the village, My Queen?" she asked charmingly, bowing low in a mix of mockery and honesty in a way only Belladonna could. Aurora frowned, tensing and looking wearily at her.

"Well…I…" she began uneasily, not knowing how to politely say 'no.' "Do you not prefer a nice, peaceful walk of solitude," she offered slowly. "Alone."

Belladonna crossed her fingers on the back of her head, shrugging carelessly. "Where's the fun in that?"

The pre-adult looked away from the expectant gaze, eyes locking with her Godmother's. Said Godmother was quick on her feet, gently pushing her friend toward the door.

"Perhaps some fresh air and time alone for you is best," she interrupted, opening the door with her magic and pushing the other foward. "You're becoming as insufferable as ever and Aurora has things to take care of." That said, she shoved the other out the door.

Her friend found her footing quickly, giving her a glare that soon faded into a small frown. She swiftly wiped it from her face as she noticed all eyes on her, instead scoffing haughtily.

"That's fine," she quipped, turning heel. "I'm out of here." She sniffed, shoving her hands in her pockets and walking away.

Aurora felt a little pang of guilt in her stomach as she noticed the discreet sad look in the other's eyes, wings drooping slightly as she stalked away.

'Don't do it…don't do it…_DON'T_!' her mind scolded her as she struggled with her thoughts. She sighed heavily as she stood up quickly, startling the others.

"Belladonna, wait!" she called to the faery as she ran to the door. Russet hair fell over shocked, silver eyes as she whipped around. Aurora smiled sheepishly.

"I would…be delighted to accompany you."

She watched as the other's twinkled interestingly with a strange emotion before it was hidden by disinterest, as usual. Belladonna shrugged, looking away with a small blush, flustered.

"Okay."

Aurora felt her smile grow. It was almost…cute, how Belladonna could get all shy and awkward with her at times. She stepped forward only to be stopped by a gentle hand at her shoulder. She looked up to see her Godmother look down at her, face tight with worry. It unnerved her…Did she not trust her to be on her own? Or was it Belladonna she really didn't trust? She watched nervously as the two faeries stare at one another over her, a knowing look passing between them.

The Queen gently placed her hand over the guardian's, pulling her from the tense stare-off with the other. "I'll be fine…" she said quietly, leaning up to kiss her softly on the cheek. "I'll be back soon."

She turned, hands clasped behind her back as she walked pass, ignoring the strange look Belladonna was giving her as she passed by. She glanced sideways at her.

"Are you coming?"

The other nodded slowly, causing her to smile before continuing to walk off. Belladonna watched her quietly, turning to give Maleficent one final look before following suit.

Maleficent was frowning deeply, watching their forms disappear from sight as her mind faded to memory…

XXXXX

_Emerald eyes tracked the small form crouching in the deep brush of some bushes, russet wings flickering and silver eyes narrowing. They followed the other's focus toward the village…and to the right, the castle beyond the hills._

_Predatory eyes followed each and every one of the humans as they continued upon their day without a care in the world…or any sense of danger. _

_It had been two days since the attack on her Little Beastie and Maleficent tried everything in her power to find any shred of evidence of who committed the ruthless act. She found absolutely nothing, save for the blade the guards found. She only had one thing to go on…and that was Belladonna. Her strange behavior after the attack was unnerving and Maleficent was finding it harder and harder to shake off the coincidence to her friend's sudden appearance. _

_A frown pulled at ruby red lips, eyes looking on sadly. She didn't want to believe her once best friend would do anything to harm Aurora, especially after knowing how much she meant to her and Diaval. Sure, she was well aware of the other's great dislike for humans, hell, she had felt that way for decades and only a few months prior. Even so, she was finding it hard to believe it to be Belladonna's nature to harm someone so young and vulnerable. She was to become a Seeker of honor, despite her immaturity in age and mind, and Seekers were to fight those of equal strength and qualifications; unless threatened, of course._

_But she knew the Elders' expectations to be especially cruel. They had a near perfect reputation for it. You either do as you're told or stay out of their way. And if you must change yourself to accomplish this…then so be it. _

_With all her heart and soul she was just hoping Belladonna would not lower herself to such contradictory laws…_

_Maleficent startled as she realized her friend was no longer in her hiding place, heading turning quickly about as she tried to find her once more. But, she was gone…_

"_Is there a reason you're shadowing me?"_

_The guardian whipped around, looking up to see Belladonna perched on a branch, glaring at her. Maleficent couldn't help it, she glared back._

"_You're not allowed to be involved-!" Belladonna began only to be cut off._

"_Unless I feel you are potentially threatening the lives of those I protect!" Maleficent responded back sharply. _

_Belladonna gaped at her, before her face twisted in fury._

"_How dare you insinuate-!"_

_She was cut off again._

"_I'm not," Maleficent stated calmly, jumping to the same branch the other was on, causing her to wince and shuffle away as the branch dipped under their weight. The guardian leaned over her, wings hiked up in a threatening manner. "But much like you, I have a duty to uphold." She continued, giving her a hard look. _

"_I will only ask this only once and ONLY once," she continued slowly, green eyes capturing silver ones. "Does your trial have anything to do with Aurora?"_

_Belladonna remained silent, eyes glaring back into her friend's._

"_Belladonna…" Maleficent hissed in warning, fangs clenching. Belladonna studied her quietly before finally answering._

"_No harm is going to befall Aurora…You have my word on that." _

_Maleficent looked back in shock before her brows furrowed in frustration._

"_That's not what I asked…"_

_Belladonna shook her head, looking away. Maleficent leaned forward further in an attempt to recapture her gaze. Her friend frowned, looking off at the sunset in the distance. _

"_Just…Trust me on this…"_

_XXXX_

Maleficent sighed as she folded up the dress in her hands. Belladonna had yet to give her a reason to _not _trust her. Not before, nor now. But…there was something _there_. She didn't know what, but she intended to find out. She might have love for Belladonna, but her love for Aurora supersedes that. She will protect her at all costs, including losing her greatest friend in the whole world.

She shook her head discreetly. She shouldn't think that way yet. There was no physical proof against Belladonna. So if or until there is some, she shouldn't let these feelings affect her relationship with her…or her relationship with-

"Diaval."

The midnight-black haired man looked up.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"I need you to follow them," she answered, walking up to the window. The pair could be seen walking across the bridge in silence.

Diaval frowned deeply, joining her at the window. "You don't honestly believe that Belladonna would do anything to harm Aurora?" he asked, feeling breathless with anxiety. Maleficent shook her head.

"Honestly? No…" she hesitated, looking down at her hands. "But that does not change the fact that something out there is after Aurora." She looked back up at her companion. "And I need you to watch over her in case Belladonna can't" –_or won't_- "protect her."

Diaval nodded, jumping on the window sill before transforming into a raven and flying off. Maleficent watched him go.

'Please, Sol…Keep your word…For your sake…and your father's.'

XXXXX

Aurora walked beside Belladonna, the silence an unwelcomed guess. She should have known better to accept the offer, especially considering that her Godmother managed to get her out of it. But…the young faery looked so sad when she refused. And the kind heart inside her couldn't turn her away like that…Despite everything.

'_What, "everything?"' _she thought looking down the dirt path heading to the Moors. Just a bunch of coincidences and speculations on her part? Did she have any proof that Belladonna did anything?

"_**Humans have a nasty knack of getting rid of things they don't want or need."**_

Well, there's that.

The young Queen sighed, looking down at her clasped hands. This was too complicated…She had Queenly duties that didn't require nearly as much thinking and worry. Saving her Godmother from her own father was easier!

She winced as she thought about it. Okay, perhaps not as bad as _that_. But this was very closely up there. And now she made it worse by accepting to walk with Belladonna and suffer through this silent,-

"I'm sorry."

-tense situation that wasn't looking to get any better and…wait, what?

"What?" she asked, snapping her head up to look at the faery. Belladonna rubbed her neck frustratingly, moving forward to block Aurora's path. The girl tensed.

Lips pursed and eyes narrowed.

"I said I'm sorry…" the faery blew out awkwardly, looking down at her feet and shuffling them. After a few minutes of no response she looked back up to see the younger woman staring blankly at her.

"For the other day!" she snapped, the awkward tenseness getting to her. "I'm sorry for saying all those horrible things to you, alright?!"

Aurora blinked before nodding slowly, her mind trying to grasp acceptance of who was in fact apologizing to her. All the while Belladonna was glaring at her, waiting. When she was to slow for her liking, she snapped again.

"Forget I said anything." She sneered, turning to stomp away. Humans were more irritating than she thought…

"Wait a minute!" she was stopped as a hand tugged at her sleeve. She groaned, grudgingly turning back around. She looked as if she was pained from the whole situation.

Aurora hesitated before grasping the other's hand firmly but gently. "I accept your apology…I- thank you."

Belladonna looked even more uncomfortable, if that was even possible at this point, as she gently tried to tug her hand away. But Aurora was persistent. The faery gave a small whine, like a wounded puppy before shaking it off and growling.

"Fine, fine, your welcome." She groused, yanking her arm away. "Now stop touching me."

Aurora giggled, feeling the great weight that had been hanging over her for what seemed like forever slowly dissipate. The logical part of her tried to reason that a simple apology shouldn't change things. But her heart…her hear t knew everything was going to be ok. Difficult, everything is, but things were going to work out in the end. She just knew it would.

The soon-to-be Seeker stared at her as if she grew a new appendage as she continued to giggle. She grasped her shoulder and turned her round, pushing her back toward the castle.

"W-where are w-we going?" Aurora asked through her near frantic giggles.

"I'm taking you back to Maleficent," she answered, giving her a look. "I think I broke you."

Aurora blew out some more chuckles, shaking her head and sliding the other's hand off. "You didn't. I'm just glad."

Belladonna looked confused. "Glad about what?"

"That you no longer hate me…"

Silver eyes winced before looking down at the dirt. "Ah…Look…" she hesitantly placed her hand on the others shoulder in an attempted comfort gesture. "I…never…hated you…I just…it's just… look what I'm trying to say is…"

Aurora stopped her by placing her hand over the other's. Belladonna watched her, looking exhausted.

"It's okay…"

The mystical creature nodded, sheepishly scratching her horns.

"Good, good…"

Aurora grinned, pulling her arm and walking toward the Moors.

XXXX

A large, midnight black raven watched them quietly from his perch. His black eyes twinkled and he cooed in happiness as he watched the pair a few feet away. They were talking animatedly as they gently petted the grey wind dragons, drawing purrs from them.

He was ecstatic that they were finally getting along, even if it might not last long. From the apology earlier, Diaval could tell Belladonna was at least trying to make an effort in getting along with Aurora. And honestly, that is all he could ask for. He understood how hard it was for creatures as themselves to get along with humans.

Not to misunderstand him, he absolutely loved and adored Aurora, but there were just some humans that were hard to associate with. They seem to have forevermore standardized a hatred for mystical creatures, and nothing could change their minds about them.

Even so, it would be wrong to judge all by only a few…And yet…

The raven sighed, his brain couldn't handle all this thinking. But he couldn't help it…Belladonna confused the life out of him. He could swear he was losing feathers with all the stress she was putting him under. And it was not the constant pranks or sarcastic quips thrown his way. That actually proved to be quite charming to him, surprisingly enough. It was all the mumblings lately…

He was no fool, though he may act as though he hasn't a clue of certain things. He heard some suspicions around the kingdom, that Belladonna was the one who attacked Aurora. But that is exactly what kept him from believing them. They were only suspicions. Until he had some hard proof, he wasn't about to believe some gossip spread around like seedlings to the earth.

But then…what if it was too late then?

He shook his head furiously, cawing in anew frustration. Nothing was pointing to the fact that it was Belladonna!

So what the attack just happened to occur within days of her arrival? So what she just happen to not like humans? So what she was a warrior in training looking to finish her trial which absolutely no one knew what it was about? That didn't mean anything….

Bloody hell.

He groaned. He didn't want to believe she had anything to do with it. He knew he would never be able to forgive her if she caused anything to befall Aurora. But, he couldn't help being attracted to her. In what way…he wasn't so sure.

She was beautiful, that was for sure; her name fit her perfectly. The way she flew… with all the grace of Maleficent herself and yet the fiery attitude that was all her own. Those eyes…they made him shiver. Whether mad, annoyed or happy…they always made his body tremble.

He shook his head again. He had to be watching over them, not indulging in the thoughts of a hopeless romantic. He huffed, but he couldn't help it. She ruffled his feathers in so many ways he couldn't decide if he absolutely loved it or was looking for the first sign to get it to stop.

The female was the most confusing person in the world…and he thought Maleficent was bad!

He whined pitifully as he slumped on the branch. Perhaps no thinking time would be best. He focused his eyes back toward the ledge of the cliff, only to see his charge and his new friend were gone. He squawked in panic, swiveling his head from side to side. Oh, he was an idiot! How could he lose them so easily?!

He missed the rustle of leaves behind him in his panic.

"DIAVAL!"

The raven screeched in surprise, jumping so high that he fell off his perch and landed in the muddy leaves below; groaning. He tilted his feathery head up to see Aurora and Belladonna cackling down at him. Aurora was…cackling. Just like Belladonna…

He groaned again, thumping his head back to the ground. Maybe they shouldn't be friends if the faery was going to be this much of a bad influence.

XXXX

**A/N: oh, Belladonna…you're becoming a big pain in the butt aren't ya? **

**Hope you liked this chapter, until next time! Review please! :D**


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